The Renaissance in England XVI century Henry

The Renaissance in England (XVI century)

Henry VII Tudor (1457 / 1485 – 1509) Henry VII established firm and effective government, backed by strong financial and legal systems. It was the Henry VII beginning of the period of absolute Elizabeth of monarchy in York England.

English Reformation King Henry VIII Catherine of Aragon His son Henry VIII became the reformer of the church. After the Pope refused to divorce him, Henry VIII declared himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England. The new Anglican Church was independent of Rome, and became one of the protestant denominations.

King Henry VIII and his wives Catherine of Aragon Anne of Cleves Catherine Howard Anne Boleyn Jane Seymour Catherine Parr (1491 / 1509 – 1547)

The children of Henry VIII Edward VI (1537 / 1547 – 1553) Mary I (1516 / 1553 – 1558) Elizabeth I (1533 / 1558 – 1603)

Edward VI was a sickly boy and died at the age of 16.

Mary Tudor was known as “Bloody Mary”, for she hoped to restore England to Catholicism and started a fierce company, burning heretics.

Elizabeth I reigned for 44 years. The Elizabethan era is considered to be the golden age in English history. It was a period of political stability, economic prosperity, flowering of arts and literature.

Defeat of the Invincible Armada In 1588 Spain, the most active rival of England, sent the so-called Invincible Armada against England. It comprised around 150 large and modern ships. But the English won thanks to excellent maneuvering and the weather. England became the leading seapower in Europe.

Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart An irritating and persistent problem that Elizabeth had to face was the relationship with Scotland Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. The Scottish didn’t like Mary who was a Catholic. When a Protestant army was raised against her she had to seek refuge in England with her relative Queen Elizabeth promptly imprisoned and later executed her. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots

James I Stuart (1566 / 1603 – 1625) But on her death-bed the unmarried and childless Elizabeth made Mary’s son James, king of Scotland, her successor as the King of England. In 1603, he became James I Stuart, king of both England Scotland, though the official union of the two countries followed only a century later, in 1707.

Economic development Changes were observed in economy. As wool became the most popular product of trading, sheep breeding turned to be the most profitable branch of agriculture. The landowners took their peasants’ fields for pastures. The enclosures of land made peasants move to towns and become hired workers at manufactures. It was the beginning of capitalistic development in economy.

Geographical discoveries The Renaissance epoch in Europe was the time of numerous geographical discoveries. English sailors also contributed to them.

John Cabot discovered Newfoundland in 1497.

Francis Drake's search for treasures led to his sailing round the globe (1577 -80).

Sir Walter Raleigh led an expedition to America and in 1585 founded the first English colony there, named Virginia after Elizabeth (the Virgin Queen). It was Raleigh who introduced potatoes and tobacco into Britain, having brought them from America.

Painting Self-portrait by Hans Holbein Erasmus of Rotterdam The Renaissance period is marked by flourishing of national culture. Great European artists, such as Hans Holbein, painted portraits for the English aristocracy. Henry VIII Jane Seymour

Tudor architecture A new architectural style, imitating classical Italian architecture, became to be known later as the Tudor style.

Humanism The term Renaissance originally indicated a revival of classical (Greek and Roman) arts and sciences. Humanism became the new philosophy. The humanists held their chief interest not in ecclesiastical knowledge, but in man, his environment and doings.

Sir Thomas More At the beginning of the 16 th century the outstanding humanist Thomas More (1478 – 1535) wrote his most famous book Utopia in which he described an ideal state.

Poetry In poetry and drama it was the age of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Walter Raleigh, Philip Sydney, Edmund Spenser.

The Renaissance theatre In the 16 th century the first theatres were built. They were roofless wooden structures. The rich people occupied the boxes while common people stood in the pit. All actors were men.

The Globe Theatre One of the most famous London theatres was the Globe for which Willam Shakespeare wrote his famous plays.